Behold the Power of Borax!

Being the eco-stepper that I am, I am always looking for all natural, non-toxic and inexpensive ways to clean my house, do laundry, freshen the air and all that goes with housework.  Since I have tried Borax in my homemade laundry soap and dishwasher powder, I am learning that it's actually quite the handy product to have on hand.  Wikipedia explains the many uses of Borax, far beyond those most would consider for every day household chores.  To pare it down a bit, here are some interesting uses for Borax:

Pet Dander, Dust Mites and Mold, Oh My!

Sure, wall-to-wall shag carpet sounds all nice and cozy.  Who doesn't like walking barefoot across a plush and cushy rug?  They're warm, they're fuzzy and can pull a room together for that certain "look."  But... you may change your mind after learning about what hangs out on those carpet fibers.

In addition to the bits of popcorn from last night's movie fest and other food particles that get dropped on them, carpets can harbor things like pet dander, dust mites, mold spores, pollen, pesticides and dead skin cells.  Ewww! 

How to get rid of these things?

Take off Your Shoes and Breathe a Sigh of Relief

Many societies in the world consider it impolite to wear your shoes inside someone's home.  Well, they may be onto something!  When you think about all of the places your shoes have been during the course of a day (assuming you travel outside your house), and all of the crud that they can pick up, it seems only sensible that leaving your shoes at the door is a good thing to do.

Back in 1991, the EPA did something called a "Door Mat Study" to measure all of the bad nasties that we pick up on our shoes and bring home.

The bad news:   Their study found that we bring lead dust, chemicals, pesticides, animal dander and animal feces in from the outside.  That's pretty gross.  Of most concern was the lead dust and it's toxic effect on children.

The good news:  By doing a few simple things (like taking off our shoes at the door), we can dramatically reduce tracking all of these pollutants into our homes.  The Door Mat Study found that:

Using door mats cut toxic lead dust inside the home almost in half.
Taking shoes off at the door cut the lead dust by 60%, better than door mats.
Doing both actions — door mats and shoes off — over a five month period wiped away a stunning 98.5% of the toxic dust. Virtually eliminated all of it. 

So there you have it.  Get yourself a good door mat, take off your shoes and let your little piggies breathe cleaner air.   If you have pets that go outside, definitely go for the door mat!  And, the next time you feel weird about asking someone to remove their shoes at your house, don't.

Next up:  The Ugly Truth About Carpets (somewhat of a continuation of this post...)